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Some in Vt. not sweet on standard syrup grading

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — In a state that has a long history of maple syrup production and fiercely protects the purity of its brand, Vermont producers are proud of their "fancy," ''grade A dark amber" and "grade B" syrup.

FILE-In this March 17, 2008, file photo, Henry Marckres holds a maple sample up for viewing in East Montpelier, Vt. Vermonters have grown accustomed to their “fancy” “amber” and “grade B” types of maple syrup but new consumers may not be so sweet on the terms. So the country’s largest producer of the pancake topping is thinking of doing away with those terms and adopting new international names with flavor descriptions to help consumers delineate between four different colored and flavored syrups and to match new worldwide terms. The four classifications would be golden color, delicate taste; amber color, rich taste; dark color, robust taste; and very dark color, strong taste. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

But the terminology has the potential to perplex consumers, particularly as Vermont's syrup production, which has boomed in the past decade, reaches broader markets.

So Vermont is considering joining with other syrup-producing states and Canadian provinces in selling a product with one grading standard, triggering fears by some producers that the state's vaunted brand will lose its reputation if it doesn't stand out from the rest — as they say it should.

"You're lumping Vermont syrup in with all the rest of them," said Kevin Bushee, 69, of the Bushee Family Maple Farm in Danby.

Vermont's syrup, which forms a state industry that nets about $130 million a year, is in fact not the same as others. The state requires that its syrup be slighter denser than other syrups because it thinks it tastes better. That requires that more sap be produced.

Some states already use current USDA standards to grade their syrup, while others, including Vermont, have their own standards. But maple states and provinces are considering getting on board with one system, for consistency's sake.

"Most of the states are watching Vermont to see what we do," said Henry Marckres, a maple specialist with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture.

The new standards would not affect the density, which in Vermont would stay the same. And producers can do their own marketing on labels, such as calling it fancy, in addition to the tiny grading labels.

"If a jug is on a shelf and if you put maple syrup from different states on the shelf, the most obvious thing is the name of the state it comes from," said Jacques Couture, a Vermont sugar maker near the Canadian border and director of the board of the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association. "So I don't worry at all about that distracting from Vermont's. Vermont's brand is what it is, and I don't think that anybody's going to take away from that."